Submitted from Freshrubber.com

Fernando Alonso’s relationship with McLaren suffered another blow this week when he reportedly turned down the opportunity for peace-talks.

According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Lewis Hamilton and team boss Ron Dennis are currently relaxing in the waters off Menorca aboard fellow McLaren founder Mansour Ojjeh’s 72-metre super-yacht.

While Hamilton has been onboard for a few days already, frolicking in the waves with Ojjeh’s daugher Sara, Dennis arrived earlier this week and invited Alonso to join the party.

The invitation was in the hope of ’smoothing tensions’ left over from the Hungarian GP qualifying debacle and arriving at a ‘pact for peaceful coexistence from now until the end of the season.’

Alonso, though, ‘declined’ the offer, opting to stick to his original holiday plans.

‘The divorce seems definitive and the possibilities of reconciliation, quite distant. The situation of extreme tension between Fernando Alonso and the rest of the McLaren team seems not to have improved in the last week,’ the newspaper said.

Following the Hungarian GP, which saw Alonso penalised for blocking his team-mate in the pits and preventing him from challenging for pole position, the double World Champion has been linked to a return to Renault at the end of the season as well as a move to BMW.

source: planet-f1.com

Submitted from NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog

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It is finally official, Dale Jr will not be driving the number 8 car next year. HMS and DEI could not come to terms.

OK, like did anyone ever believe that an agreement between the two sides would ever happen? Are you really that optimistic? Man, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I did have a faint glimmer of hope these last few weeks because there was still no announcement, but in the end I really wasn’t disappointed as I had already prepared for the result.

Now before the Jr Nation goes and starts getting out their favourite Teresa Earnhardt voodoo dolls let’s face it, Jr had this coming. I can see the hate mail now, but it is true. What do you expect “the wicked witch of Carolina” to do? He, yes Dale Jr, left DEI and DEI, not Dale Jr, has rights to that number. If I were a car owner and I had a number that meant something to me, like my late husband’s Busch number and father-in-law’s number, I would be keeping it with the company my husband started - even if the person who wanted that number was my late husband’s son.

Why? Because of the way he left the family business. His “its my way or the highway” demands would have gotten my feathers ruffled too - even if he was right - and I would not give him anything but a swift kick in the butt on his way out. It is supposed to be a family business, not his business. Obviously, with Kelley in his corner his power play was even more threatening and what about the other two children in all of this?

Now I’m not taking Teresa’s side here, just explaining her point of view. Honestly, I think it would have been a good gesture on her part to let Jr have the number, under certain provisions like a share in the profits made by the marketing of the 8 for example.

Who really knows what happened for sure anyway, the items discussed during the meetings have not been made public. Who knows, Teresa could have been offering the 8 with certain conditions, that Dale Jr (and Hendrick) turned down because they wanted it outright (again, the “my way or the highway” attitude). I’m not saying this happened, but I’m not discounting it either.

In a way this is probably better for Dale Jr in the long run. He has a fresh start with Hendrick and that fresh start also includes a new number, whether it has an 8 in it or not remains to be seen (rumour has it as #81 right now), but it won’t have the shadows of DEI looming over it and that might be even more important than having the 8 altogether.

Submitted from NASCAR Eclectic

All that’s needed is the #81. Although I’m not sure why Jr. wouldn’t use the #83. Well, it’s a no brainer that mom T kept her talons on the #8. Of course it’s all in spite because without Jr. it’s a worthless number… she can place it over the door in her new DEI-Ginn museum.

I’m not surprised to hear that part of the #18 Interstate Battery car woes are due to lack of cash. They’ve been a major car sponsor for many years now but their pockets alone are not deep enough. I’m sure JD Gibbs can find a suitable co-sponsor. I have a Bobby Labonte #18 diecast in my collection… but I also have the Ricky Rudd #21 Motorcraft and look at the changes that car has been through… “Little Debbie”… who’d a thunk!!

Back at the Cottage… Pattyjo & I will take ownership of a beautiful blue ‘95 T-Bird LX today at 5:00. It’s in awesome condition with 88k on the odometer with new Firestone’s and a 10 changer CD player mounted in the trunk. She needed a different car because the old Neon we bought from a friend in need last year is needing too much work, so we gave it to Pattyjo’s brother. Pattyjo is excited.